Ghobash sponsors the
Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, in memory of his father,
Saif Ghobash, the UAE's first minister of state for foreign affairs, who was assassinated at
Abu Dhabi International Airport in 1977. Likewise, he is a founding trustee of the
International Prize for Arabic Fiction which runs with the support of the
Booker Prize Foundation. He founded one of the region's first contemporary art galleries,
The Third Line, which is based in
Dubai, as well as The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, which supports and identifies the production, research, and distribution channels of contemporary Arab art and culture. Ghobash is on the advisory body of
The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at
King's College London and the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi. Prior to his appointment as ambassador, the UAE had not had a
diplomatic mission in
Moscow for many years. More recently, however, the UAE has invested roughly US$6 billion in Russian infrastructure. Ghobash believes Russian participation in fighting
extremism is integral to creating stability in the Middle East. A delegation from
Abu Dhabi led by the UAE's
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has bolstered its presence at
The Kremlin in 2015 to co-produce solutions to counter
terrorism and conflicts in the
Middle East. He is considered by many to be a
thought leader on
moderate Islam and the future of the
Arab world, often calling for change through technological innovation and education in Arab countries. Regarding extremism in young Muslims, he said, "The key challenge for us is to stop treating our youth with distance, because there are recruiters out there making sure to grab those youth from us." After receiving funding from the government of
Abu Dhabi, Ghobash was involved in 2008 in discussions with
John Sexton on the opening of a campus of
New York University in
Abu Dhabi in 2010. Ghobash chairs the UAE Rhodes Scholarship selection committee. == Bibliography ==